Long drafting in the shadow of Corvette, Camaro, Mustang and Challenger — and now regrettably extinct — the Thunderbird was nonetheless Ford’s original post-war “sports car.” And at least until history passed it by, the T-bird forged a lasting presence in music and racing too.

Witness “Fun, Fun, Fun” by the Beach Boys (1964), Bob Seger’s “Makin’ Thunderbirds” (1982), Marc Cohn’s “Silver Thunderbird” (1991), and more recently, John Hiatt’s “Thunderbird” (2005). Sure, there have been some great Cobra, Corvette and Read More

Acolleague once bought a rescue dog. It was a cute, bright-eyed thing that looked like a cross between an Australian cattle dog and a German bierwurst sausage. Unfortunately, this lovable mutt had numerous congenital problems, including seizures that required substantial doses of time and money to diagnose and treat. The good news is that with the right medication, the little guy is happy and healthy today.

Classic Corvettes are happy to be driven really hard. So there’s no reason why they should ever sit out a season of driving — or even year-round use in non-blizzardy climates.

Of course, while a 1956, 1966 or 1976 Corvette was contemporary in its time, the technology of 40 to 60 years ago borders on antique today. This means that no matter how nice they may be, all old Corvettes have room for improvement to approach current levels of versatility, Read More

For an English major, I sure did lousy in Ye Olde English Literature. Byron, Keats, Milton and the rest seemed unbearably stuffy compared to my favorite authors of the period — the editors of Hot Rod, Road & Track and Car and Driver — in particular, Brock Yates.

But one poet did come up with two lines that have stayed with me: “Oh, do not ask, ‘What is Read More